Oakland Park Chief Attends Fbi National Academy

The chief of the Broward Sheriff's Office's Oakland Park District recently graduated from the 236th FBI National Academy at the United States Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va.

John S. Bukata attended the 10-week course from Jan. 9 to March 20 with more than 250 veteran law enforcement professionals representing police organizations from all over the world.

The national academy provides a training curriculum and environment separate from the FBI Academy that instructs prospective FBI special agents at the same complex in Quantico.

Students took five academic courses and physical training. The students' schedules from early morning through much of the evening were regimented and filled with many activities, such as professional networking and team-building events, and field trips.

"There was not one piece of [these] 10 weeks that was not well thought out, well planned and professional," Bukata said. "It was an unbelievable experience."

Bukata took the following classes: introduction to terrorism, leadership of a counter-terrorism unit, conflict resolution and management for law enforcement executives, police communication strategies in police-involved shootings, and evidentiary crime scene photography.

"I learned something in each of the classes. If it wasn't from the instructor or the academics, it was from the other professionals in the class who had different experiences in their professional lives that they brought to the table," Bukata said.

After completing the two courses dealing with terrorism, Bukata said he believed it was important for Oakland Park to increase its security measures, including adding more surveillance camera systems, fencing and concrete barricades, and metal detectors to check those entering government buildings.

Courses were accredited for university credit, and students completed class presentations, team assignments, research papers and exams.

"The amount of work that they gave during this surpasses what you would expect for police executives who have basically done it all," Bukata said. "The academics were very challenging."

The physical training regimen, however, was where Bukata faced and met his biggest challenge.

He distinguished himself among all previous BSO national academy attendees by earning both a coveted blue and yellow brick. The bricks are issued for physical training excellence, he said.

A blue brick is given to students who swim 34 miles cumulatively during the length of the academy. A yellow brick rewards those who meet "the yellow brick road challenge," a series of progressively more difficult runs that culminates in a 6.1-mile race that includes a 2.8-mile trail run through a Marine Corps stamina course.

To develop his physical strength and stamina, Bukata developed a close relationship with fellow student Larry Juriga, with whom he would work out every morning in addition to regular PT class.

"Larry was my workout buddy. He helped develop me physically and was a major support while we were there. I may not have been the first one to finish when we'd go running, but I always finished," Bukata said.

"The guy was a workhorse," said Juriga, who oversees the investigative section of the North Miami Police Department.

A 29-year veteran of law enforcement, Bukata began his career with BSO in 1983. He became chief of the Oakland Park District in November 2006.

Bukata said the experience fulfilled his long-standing wish of attending the prestigious academy. The national academy admits students who meet its criteria and are recommended by their law enforcement agencies. Bukata first applied through the BSO to attend the academy about 10 years ago, but only in the past few years had the Sheriff's Office considered his application competitive, he said.

"He has wanted this I think since he decided he wanted to be a police officer and learned about this opportunity," said Anne Bukata, his wife. "He wants to take his career to as high a level as possible."

The Bukatas have three children: John, Marie and Ashley. Marie and Ashley are high school students.

"Without her support taking care of the day-to-day stuff at home, I never would have made it," Bukata said of his wife.

About 1,000 people attend the national academy during its four sessions each year, and the BSO has places for only two people annually, Bukata said. The Sheriff's Office generally sends district chiefs or those with the rank of captain or higher to the academy, he said.